Various conventional antenna structures exist that include a reflector for directing energy into a desired pattern. One such conventional antenna structure is a radial rib reflector design comprising a plurality of reflector ribs joined together at a common cylindrical shaped hub. The reflector ribs provide structural support to a flexible antenna reflector surface attached thereto. A plurality of cords, wires, guidelines, or other tensile members couple the flexible antenna reflector surface to the reflector ribs. The wires or guidelines define and maintain the shape of the flexible antenna reflector surface. The radial rib reflector is collapsible so that it can be transitioned from a deployed position to a stowed position. In the deployed position, the radial rib reflector has a generally parabolic shape. In the stowed position, the reflector ribs are folded up against each other. As a result, the antenna reflector has a stowed height approximately equal to the reflector's radius.
Another conventional antenna structure is a folding rib reflector having a similar design to the radial rib reflector design described above. However, the reflector ribs include a first rib shaft and second rib shaft joined together by a common joint. In the stowed position, the first rib shafts are folded up against the second rib shafts. As such, the antenna reflector has a stowed height that is less than the stowed height of the radial rib reflector design. However, the stowed diameter of the folding rib reflector is larger than the stowed diameter of the radial rib reflector design.
In each of the previous designs, the aperture of the reflector is directly related to the length of the ribs, such that any increase in aperture size requires a directly corresponding increase in rib size and thereby an increased package volume.
Another type of configuration is a hoop reflector where the reflector surface is attached to a circular hoop. To shape the reflector into a parabolic surface, the hoop must have thickness out of the plane of the hoop that is greater than the depth of the parabolic surface. The hoop also must have bending stiffness to prevent the attachments to the reflector from warping out of a plane.